KATY, Texas — The new school year will bring a new way to combat bullying within Katy ISD, and all students need are their smart phones.
The district’s app will have a new feature that allows students to report bullying.
“I think it’s a great idea as long as they follow up,” said grandmother Esther Lewis.
Lewis said one of her grandchildren was the target of bullies last school year.
“It was every time they went out on the playground,” said Lewis.
Katy ISD unveiled information about the new app feature on social media. Basically, a bullying tip line will now be included on the district’s smart phone app.
“We still want kids to know they can talk to a teacher, a counselor, or an administrator,” said Katy ISD spokesperson Maria Corrales-DiPetta.
But the app will allow students to share information anonymously if they choose.
“They can select the type of bullying and choose their school and add other details, including a photo,” said Corrales-DiPetta.
The tip-line announcement comes on the heels of a controversy involving decades old bullying claims against Katy ISD Superintendent Lance Hindt. But the district says the app update was in the works well before that and that Hindt and other Katy ISD leaders fully support measures to combat bullying.
“And that ranges from verbal to physical to cyber-bullying,” said Corrales-DiPetta. “And now social bullying is something that’s very prevalent.”
Esther Lewis hopes increased reporting helps leads to prevention for the sake of her granddaughter and other students who face bullying.
“It’s just such an issue,” said Lewis.
A message comes up when you click the tip-line that refers anyone in need of immediate counseling to a phone number. The app should feature the bullying tip-line by the time school starts in Katy on August 15.